september 2018 - august 2019 annual report · emma coles founder of be vitality professor martin...

Annual Report 2018/19

September 2018 - August 2019

ANNUAL REPORT

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How is it that 10% of children who arrive at primary school are either obese or overweight, and by the time they are 11 these figures rise to over 20%? Combating these numbers is the big challenge that motivates all of us at the Food Foundation. In order to measure what is changing, what is not changing, and what urgently needs to be addressed, our first annual ‘state of food’ report The Broken Plate aims to establish a benchmark to monitor progress year on year. We know that the real change we need will take time, effort and determination, but this year has been one of breakthrough achievements for the Food Foundation. The team has launched the ITV Veg Power partnership, and the ground-breaking veg advertising #EatThemToDefeatThem campaign that has had a real impact on purchasing. On changing the quantity of veg supplied by the food sector, our Peas Please initiative has resulted in serving an additional 89.5 million portions of veg in the UK. We have also been successful in getting government to address food insecurity. Spearheaded by Dame Emma Thompson, our Children’s Future Food Inquiry brought politicians together with young people facing food poverty, and the Children’s #Right2Food Charter is driving change across policy. We have also challenged government to start measuring food insecurity and were thrilled that the Department for Work and Pensions will be including food insecurity in one of its annual surveys. The Foundation was very pleased that our CEO Anna Taylor has been appointed Chief Independent Advisor to Henry Dimbleby on the government’s National Food Strategy, which will aim for the first time to draw together the interlocking measures needed to deliver a safe, healthy and environmentally sensitive food system, fit for the future. We have exciting plans for 2020, amplifying all that we have been doing this year and embedding our achievements – but going further with an important project, Plating Up Progress, which will work to put the health and environmental impacts of the food sector firmly on the agenda for food businesses and investors. 2020 will be a particularly ambitious year due to the brilliant support that the National Lottery Community Fund has given the Foundation to expand and scale the Peas Please initiative. We so look forward to working with the project’s many partners to significantly increase veg consumption. The Trustees are very proud of what our small, nimble, highly collaborative and professional team have delivered. Together we are impacting all parts of a food system that desperately needs transformation.

TRUSTEE STATEMENT

Laura Sandys, Chair

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TOM LINDSAY

BARONESS ROSIE BOYCOTT

LAURA SANDYS (CHAIR)

DAVID EDWARDS

PROFESSOR SIR MICHAEL MARMOT

PAT BIGGERS

PROFESSOR SIR CHARLES GODFRAY

CIC registered number 9162855Registered office The Food Foundation, Raincloud Victoria, 76 Vincent Square, Westminster, London, SW1P 2PD

Main number: +44 (0) 20 3086 9953 | Bankers Cafbank | Auditors Chris Mattos Tax

TRUSTEES

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OUR TEAM Our Expert Advisors The Food Foundation’s Expert Advisory Board is comprised of the most eminent specialists in the field, and provides quality assurance for our work by ensuring that our recommendations are evidence-based and reviewed by the best-informed authorities available.

ANNA TAYLORExecutive Director

DR RACHEL LOOPSTRA

Lecturer at King’s College London

DR TIM LOBSTEINConsultant, World

Obesity Federation

PANDORA HAYDONCommunications

Manager

JO RALLINGHead of

Communications

PROFESSOR HARRY RUTTER

Professor in Global Public Health, Bath University

PROFESSOR CORINNA HAWKES

Professor of Food Policy, City University,

London

SHONA GOUDIEProject Officer

DR COURTNEY SCOTTResearch &

Policy Adviser

EMMA COLESFounder of Be Vitality

PROFESSOR MARTIN WHITE

Professor of Epidemiology at

Cambridge University

INDU GURUNGEvents Coordinator

& Research Assistant

WILL NICHOLSONProject Lead:

Plating up Progress

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WHY DO WE EXIST?


The Food Foundation was established to understand why the UK food system is failing to deliver the necessary public goods, and to drive change in food policy and business practice to ensure everyone, across our nations, can afford and access a healthy diet. What we eat in the UK is damaging our health and our planet, and these implications are compounded by the significant and growing number of people facing food insecurity.

The statistics are shocking...

THE CONSEQUENCES

The food system

in which we find

ourselves

ONLY 2.5% of food and drink advertising goes on FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

1in4places to buy food are FAST

FOOD OUTLETS

Half of breakfast cereals marketed to children are HIGH IN

SUGAR

ONLY 14% of ready meals

contain no meat

Unhealthy foods are THREE TIMES

CHEAPER than healthy food

THE POOREST 10% of UK households would need

to spend 74% OF THEIR DISPOSABLE INCOME on

food in order to meet the Eatwell Guide costs

3.7 MILLION CHILDREN are living in households for whom A HEALTHY

DIET IS UNAFFORDABLE

A QUARTER OF CHILDREN who do not receive free school meals have

GONE WITHOUT LUNCH because they couldn’t afford it

16% OF ADULTS report skipping meals because of a

LACK OF MONEY

› 10% of five-year-olds and 20% of 11-year-olds are obese

› Childhood obesity rates are more than DOUBLE among poorer children

› 3.1 MILLION people are registered with diabetes, up from 2.4 million in 2010

› Diabetes-related amputations have gone up by 25% over the last eight years

› The global food system is responsible for A THIRD of all human-cause greenhouse gas emissions

In February 2019, the Food Foundation published its first annual flagship report. The Broken Plate presents ten vital signs revealing the health of our food system, its impact on our lives, and the remedies we must pursue.

The report shows that the UK’s food system has led the country into a national health crisis, with children and households on low incomes suffering the severest health consequences. We’ll publish an edition of The Broken Plate

each year, providing updated statistics for the ten key metrics, new commentary on the direction of travel, fresh policy recommendations and proposals for change inspired by emerging evidence.

The Broken Plate

80% of adults and 95% of children eat fewer than 3.5 PORTIONS of vegetables a day

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Our vision

Our mission

What we do

Who we are

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM?

is a sustainable food system which delivers health and wellbeing for all.

is changing food policy and business practice to ensure everyone, across our nations, can afford and access a healthy diet.

We use surprising and inventive ideas to catalyse and deliver fundamental change in the food system by building and synthesising strong evidence, shaping powerful coalitions, harnessing citizens’ voices and driving progress with impactful communications. We continually identify new opportunities for action, and trial new levers for change.

We are an independent organisation working in partnership with researchers, campaigners, community bodies, industry, government and citizens to galvanise the UK’s diverse agents of change.

A sustainable food system which delivers health and wellbeing for everyone in the UK

See our 2025

ambitions

THEVISION

Communitylevel

partners

Campaign partners

Research partners

THE FOOD FOUNDATION

TOOLBOX

Campaigning tools

EventsParliamentary engagement

Reports and written materials

Media coverage and social media engagement

Excellent networks and influential relationships

POLICY AND

PRACTICE CHANGE

OUR AUDIENCE:• National, devolved

and local authority policy makers

• Businesses• Investors• International actors

which affect the UK

THE CASE FOR CHANGE

Our Theory of Change

Evidence

Citizen's lived experience &

voices

Engaged and active

citizens

CHANGING CHILDREN’S FOOD: The UK will have substantially

improved the design and delivery of policies which affect children’s food and contribute to a reduction in children’s food insecurity and childhood obesity.

CHANGING VEGETABLE

CONSUMPTION: There will be a permanent shift in the food system in favour of higher veg consumption reflected in both business practice and government policies, with three billion additional portions of vegetables consumed.

CHANGING PUBLIC POLICY: Food policy at national (England) and city levels

(Birmingham & Pune) will have significantly strengthened through the development of integrated strategies. These are already starting to reorient food systems to deliver healthier and more sustainable diets.

CHANGING BUSINESS

INCENTIVES: All retailers and high street food chains will routinely report on key metrics, demonstrating their support for healthy diets from sustainable food systems so that government, investors and citizens can use the new data to inform policy, investment and behaviour.

We aim to play an active role in changing the health and well-being trajectory of children born in 2025 so the food system supports them to avoid life-long diet-related disease.

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OUR AMBITIONS FOR 2025

TRAJECTORY FOR CHILDREN BORN IN 2019

❱ 'What Young People Say About Food’ report

❱ Final report • Children’s #Right2Food Charter

❱ Listening Event at House of Lords

❱ 411 stakeholders• 4 stakeholder consultations

❱ 15 Young Food Ambassadors

❱ 100+ evidence submissions

❱ Working with government departments to explore the establishment of a new, independent Children’s Food Watchdog

❱ Government commitment to measure household food insecurity in England

❱ Vegetable Summit

❱ New national partner – Northern Ireland

❱ Pledgers conference • 51 pledgers • 4.8 million additional portions of veg

❱ Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign

• 38.2 million audience reach • £2 million worth of primetime advertising space on ITV • £1.7 million free billboard advertising • Brixton Market Veg Invasion • 10,000 children taught to cook with vegetables

❱ 1 report

❱ 1 roundtable launch

❱ 2 partners

❱ 24 case studies

❱ 2 Situational Analysis Reports

❱ 1 Case Study Report

❱ Pune and Birmingham both signatories to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact

❱ 1 report

❱ 10 metrics

❱ Children’s panel on food

❱ 1 research briefing

❱ 1 photovoice case study

❱ 1 public engagement workshop

❱ New website

❱ Chief Independent Advisor to Henry Dimbleby on the National Food Strategy

❱ 21 member organisations

Children’s Future Food

Inquiry

Fruit and Vegetable Alliance

Members of End

Hunger UK coalition

Healthy Returns

Plating Up Progress

Broken Plate

Sustainable & Healthy Food

Systems

BINDI – Birmingham and Pune’s

smart nutrition partnership

National Food

Strategy

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❱ 1 report

❱ 25 asset management firms and investment banks engaged

❱ 8 organisations providing benchmarks and data analysis coordinating action

❱ 2 investor workshops

❱ 6 webinars on risks and opportunities

CHANGING VEGCHANGING

PUBLIC POLICY BUSINESS IN

CENTI

VES

CONSUMPTION

CH

ILDREN'S FOOD

CH

ANGING CHANGING


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CHILDREN’S FOOD INSECURITY The Children’s Future Food Inquiry The Children’s Future Food Inquiry, was launched in 2018, marking the first attempt to speak directly and systematically to children, young people and those who live and work with them in the UK about their experiences of food, and how it impacts their lives.

Over the last year, the Food Foundation has led the Inquiry’s coordination, collaborating with organisations from across the UK to pull together evidence on children’s food insecurity and food environments, with a strong emphasis on hearing directly from children themselves. The Inquiry aimed to tackle food insecurity and poor food environments which disproportionately affect children living in poverty, and was shaped directly by disadvantaged children’s lived experiences of food. We have empowered young people through their involvement in the Inquiry to become campaigners for food poverty in their own communities and on the national stage, and built support (among policy makers, key stakeholders and in the media) for the Inquiry’s recommendations.

“ It was refreshing, even radical, in the way young people’s involvement in both the report, charter, listening event and launch were undertaken, and I hope this is part of a movement or shift in the way decision making is taken.”

BEN PEARSON, YOUNG FOOD AMBASSADOR CHAPERONE AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME OFFICE, FOOD POWER

THE INQUIRY’S EVIDENCE BASEThe Inquiry pulled together multiple sources to gather evidence on children’s food insecurity, including from children themselves. To facilitate engagement with young people, the Inquiry established a partnership with Fixers, who led 13 workshops in 13 different locations around the country. The workshops involved 392 young people between 10 and 21 years, the majority of whom came from deprived backgrounds and were entitled to Free School Meals. Their responses to food insecurity were profiled in the ‘What Young People Say About Food’ report which was presented to the Inquiry Committee (23 civil society experts and cross-party parliamentarians) at a ‘Listening Event’ at the House of Lords. The youth engagement work undertaken by Fixers allowed us to establish a panel of 15 ‘Young Food Ambassadors’ from across the UK between the ages of 11 and 21. These Ambassadors were central to the project, and went on to act as the public faces and voices of the Inquiry’s work. At the ‘Listening Event’ they spoke openly and courageously to the Committee about their experiences of food security, and appeared on Channel 4 News later that day.

AFFORDABILITY OF A HEALTHY DIET IN THE UK This year’s work on the Inquiry started with new research on the affordability of healthy food. We conducted a secondary analysis of government data, comparing the cost of Public Health England’s Eatwell Guide to household income, and found that 3.7 million children in the UK live in households for whom a healthy diet, as defined by the government, is most likely unaffordable. What’s more, the analysis demonstrated that poorest 10% of UK households would need to spend 74% of their disposable income on food in order to meet the Eatwell Guide costs. The paper featured on the front page of the Guardian, and received over 35 pieces of additional media coverage.


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As part of the final stages of the Inquiry, three evidence hearings were held, during which the Inquiry Committee heard directly from young people and individuals with a variety of experiences of children’s food insecurity. Experts by experience, academics, young people themselves and front line staff including teachers, community leaders, youth workers and healthcare professionals attended sessions at the House of Lords (for England and Wales), Stormont for Northern Ireland and the Scottish Parliament to give evidence and share their views.

An online portal was developed by Leeds Beckett University to collect submissions from children themselves, and from adults with personal or professional experience of children’s food insecurity. The portal was distributed via 411 stakeholders across all four nations, and received submissions from children’s centres, food banks, schools, healthcare professionals, academics, faith organisations, housing associations, community advice centres, holiday kitchens and arm’s-length bodies among many others.

FURTHER EVIDENCE › We commissioned a poll of young people aged 11-18

years through the Childwise Monitor Omnibus survey, which found that a quarter of all children who are not eligible for free school meals have gone without lunch because they couldn’t afford it.

› We worked with the National Institute of Health Research, who commissioned a review of the health consequences of children’s food insecurity.

› We undertook a UK wide policy review to identify policy instruments related to children’s food and to assess their coverage of children living in poverty.

“ They shared their experiences of food insecurity and hunger with such bravery, and made sure that not only were their voices heard, but the voices of their friends and peers also, who were experiencing food insecurity. They were so articulate in telling us of their experiences at home and at school, and told us things that even shocked the most hardened and clued up MPs on the committee. A few tears were shed I think by a number of us.”

SHARON HODGSON MP, WESTMINSTER HALL DEBATE ON THE CHILDREN’S FUTURE FOOD INQUIRY

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LAUNCHING THE FINAL REPORTOn April 25th 2019, the Children’s Future Food Inquiry final report was launched in Westminster by the Inquiry’s Young Food Ambassadors and Ambassador Dame Emma Thompson. The event was attended by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families Nadhim Zahawi MP, along with an audience of civil society organisations, members of the public, government officials and food industry leaders.

Subsequent launch events were held in Northern Ireland, at the Scottish Parliament and in Wales, where First Minister Professor Mark Drakeford was in attendance. These were coordinated and delivered in partnership with Fixers, Food Sense Wales, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Wales, Children in Wales, Children in Scotland and Children in Northern Ireland.

“ The day went amazing and was far more than any of us expected – it was just out of this world. You have not only given these kids a voice but an experience they will never forget… I thought the kids were something else the way they all gelled and worked together, looking out for each other made me so proud. Asha has gone to school today to shout some more about this and is now thinking of her next plan to take it to local MPs to get them to start helping in our area.”

JOANNE EVA, MOTHER OF YOUNG FOOD AMBASSADOR ASHA EVA-DODSWORTH

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CHILDREN’S #RIGHT2FOOD CHARTER Alongside the Inquiry report, our Young Food Ambassadors put forward their key policy recommendations for loosening food insecurity’s grip on children in the UK in their #Right2Food Charter. The Charter was developed in consultation with young people and our wide stakeholder network, identifying critical policy gaps and providing proposals for government action to ensure every child in the UK has access to enough nutritious food. On the day of the final report’s London launch, Dame Emma Thompson accompanied our Young Food Ambassadors to Downing Street, where the report was delivered to No. 10.

“ This morning’s event was simply amazing. I have been to a number of food poverty events over the years, and have always left feeling we haven’t had a call to action. However today’s event was really different. I was so heartened by the voices of the children, their positive nature – despite the hardship they have all faced, and of course their #Right2Food Charter. It really did feel as though the Minister was listening, and hopefully he will work to develop the right policies and implement the spend that is required to put an end to punishing children for being born into poor households and having very little to eat. Thank you for bringing key people to hear the children’s voices, and of course for giving the children themselves such a great platform.”

MARY MCGRATH, CEO, FOODCYCLE

“ The Children’s Future Food Inquiry has brought together hundreds of young people

to hear about their lived experience of food poverty, and it’s time we listened to what they say”

DAME EMMA THOMPSON, CHILDREN’S FUTURE FOOD INQUIRY AMBASSADOR

THE CHILDREN’S FUTURE FOOD INQUIRY IN PARLIAMENT

› 25TH APRIL The Lord Bishop highlighted the concerns put forward in the report at a debate on Advertising in a Digital Age

› 1ST MAY Baroness Boycott referenced the Inquiry’s findings at a Food Bank debate

› 8TH MAY Kerry McCarthy MP led a debate in Westminster Hall on the Inquiry, during which nine cross-party MPs spoke

› 15TH MAY Sharon Hodgson MP put forward a question about the Inquiry to the Prime Minister during Prime Minister’s Questions, and Theresa May committed to looking carefully at the #Right2Food Charter

› 22ND MAY Baroness Boycott reference the Inquiry’s findings on insufficient Free School Meal allowances during a debate in the House of Lords

› 27TH JUNE Frank Field MP held a backbench debate on the Inquiry, during which 10 cross-party MPs spoke

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CALLING FOR ACTION Immediately following the launch of the Inquiry’s final report, we began working with government departments to explore the implementation of the Charter’s policy proposals, focusing in particular on the establishment of a new, independent Children’s Food Watchdog to monitor and improve children’s food in each of the four UK nations.

During two debates in Parliament, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families Nadhim Zahawi MP committed to formally responding to the Inquiry in the Autumn, and to working with the Food Foundation on exploring the viability of ideas around a Children’s Food Watchdog. He has also issued a letter to head teachers across the country urging them to look closely at the Inquiry report and to tackle some of the issues identified, including the absence of accessible free drinking water in schools.

Government commitment to measure household food insecurity in England Following three years of campaigning from the End Hunger UK Alliance, of which the Food Foundation is a core partner, the government confirmed in February

2019 that it will now annually measure household food insecurity. From April 2019, the DWP will be including the 10 questions from the USDA measurement module in its Family Resources Survey (an annual survey, covering all four nations and with a sample of 20,000 households). The data will be reported in April 2021.

THE CHILDREN’S #RIGHT2FOOD

CAMPAIGNThe Children’s

#Right2Food Campaign emerged

from the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations.

It will continue to be led by our Young Food Ambassadors as they

work to secure public and government support for

their vision of a food system in which

every child has access to a

healthy diet.

POLICY WIN

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INCREASING VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION

A nationwide initiative to increase vegetable consumption by making veg more affordable, accessible, appealing and convenient for all.

The Food Foundation has made significant progress in its work as a leading partner in the Peas Please initiative, which aims to drive up vegetable consumption in the UK. Following 2017’s Pledger Conference and Vegetable Summit at City Hall, Peas Please held its second Vegetable Summit in October 2018, where it celebrated working directly with 41 pledgers and collaborating with more than 150 organisations to shape a food environment in which vegetables are accessible, affordable and appealing. We launched the first Peas Please Progress Report at 2018’s summit (demonstrating that an additional 4.8 million portions of vegetables have already been sold in the UK as a result of Peas Please) and announced 15 new pledges, including commitments from seven major retailers, who together made up more than 80% of the grocery market share in the UK. Activity around the summit was featured in over 16 pieces of media coverage.

PLEDGES INCLUDED… › PwC’s pledge to increase spend on vegetables sold in the Social Co. restaurants

across the UK from 15% to 20% within the first year › Birds Eye’s pledge to increase TV and online advertising for vegetables by 42% to

£4.8m until December 2019 › Greggs’ pledge to sell an additional 15 million portions of veg between January 2018

and October 2020

4.8 MILLION

portions of vegetables have

already been sold in the UK as a result of

Peas Please

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Healthy StartThe Food Foundation continues its work to improve the Healthy Start fruit, vegetable and milk voucher scheme. Over the last year we’ve convened meetings with a far-reaching network of stakeholders to find new and innovative ways of developing the scheme, expanding eligibility and increasing uptake. We worked with supermarket retailers, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Association of Convenience Stores to discuss approaches to making the vouchers easier to use.

In 2020, the Food Foundation will co-produce a report with Sustain examining the role that retailers can play in driving up the number of pregnant women and mothers using Healthy Start vouchers in the UK.

As part of its Peas Please pledge, Birmingham City Council (BCC) set up an action plan aimed at:

› Increasing the registration of eligible beneficiaries

› The usage of Healthy Start vouchers by parents (especially those with children over two years old)

› The number of retailers registered and accepting Healthy Start vouchers

› The range of outlets registered and accepting Heathy Start vouchers

BCC’s future plans for increasing Healthy Start uptake includes collaboration with Department for Work and Pensions, Citizens Advice and fellow pledger the Association of Convenience stores.

Since October’s summit, Peas Please has pulled in a further ten pledges, and in May 2019 the project formally launched its Northern Ireland chapter at the Balmoral Show. The second Peas Please Pledger Conference was held in Manchester earlier this year, with 46 pledgers in attendance and presentations from Kantar WorldPanel, the Department of Health and Social Care and PwC. The conference included a workshop on the People’s Panel pilot, which brought together citizens from all four nations to share their experiences. The pilot forms the basis for our ‘People’s Veg Voice’ work, which will aim to achieve meaningful change and create more opportunities for citizen groups who are struggling to eat enough veg to engage directly with Peas Please pledgers.

PEASE PLEASE: THE NEXT

FOUR YEARS In June we were

delighted to hear that the National Lottery

Community Fund will be supporting Peas Please to continue and expand

its work to drive up vegetable intake in the

UK until 2023.

HEALTHY START IN BIRMINGHAM

› Peas Please also initiated and incubated the Veg Power fund which recently launched a £10m vegetable advertising campaign, in partnership with ITV, aimed at school children.

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Veg Power, an independent advertising fund for vegetables, was set up by the Food Foundation and our Peas Please partners in 2018. It aims to use the power of advertising and creative marketing to inspire children to eat more veg and live healthier and happier lives. Having launched a crowdfund in May 2018 and published the Truly Epic Book of Veg Power, the project moved on to its next phase.

THE #EATTHEMTODEFEATTHEM CAMPAIGNIn September 2018, Veg Power partnered with ITV, and with the help of prominent advertising agency adam&eveDDB, created Eat Them To Defeat Them, a radical new national advertising campaign launched in January 2019 on ITV. It aims to inspire children to eat more healthily by engaging with children and parents in a new way, looking to reinvigorate how vegetables are viewed and consumed.

The campaign was funded by a unique alliance of supermarkets and brands that donated to the Eat Them To Defeat Them initiative: Aldi, Asda, Birds Eye, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose. The ambitious 60 second advert premiered on prime-time ITV during Coronation Street and across ITV’s biggest programmes (including The Voice, Dancing on Ice and Britain’s Got Talent) and was also shown in cinemas across the UK. The advert and supporting creative (including posters, stickers and wallcharts) position kids as the heroes as they help their parents save the world from angry vegetables.

“ #EatThemToDefeatThem is a radical new national advertising campaign, funded by a unique alliance of supermarkets, inspiring children to eat more healthily.”

“ For me Veg Power is all about creating content, initiatives and ads to support people making better choices. What does that mean? It means making veggies cool and contemporary"

JAMIE OLIVER

#EatThemToDefeatThem's

£5M

MEDIA CAMPAIGN REACHED

A VALUE OF

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WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR › 56% of children who had

seen the ad said that eating veg was fun, as opposed to 39% who hadn’t seen the campaign.

› 71% of kids who had seen the advert said they liked vegetables, compared with 59% who hadn’t seen the ad.

› 72% of children who saw the campaign thought vegetables can be really tasty; 59% of those who hadn’t seen the ad disagreed.

› 43% of children who’d seen the campaign said they’d wanted to eat more vegetables in the last few weeks, compared with 21% of kids who hadn’t seen the ads. (YouGov)

HIGHLIGHTS › Editorial support from shows such as Good Morning Britain, ITV

Regional News. Loose Woman, Lorraine, The Voice › Widespread press coverage › A dedicated section in the Beano Online › £2m worth of free media space – 1,872 spots › 38.2 million audience reach › 1.8m views in cinema advertising over half term › 300,000 reward charts and sticker packs in the hands of 7-11-year-olds › 250 different organisations including local authorities, kids’ clubs, chefs

and restaurants supporting the campaign in-venue, online, on social media and in communities

› 5,324 unique mentions on Twitter with a potential impressions reach of 169 million

› £30k received from Lambeth Council for the Eat Them To Defeat Them by Cook School (Amanda Grant) taught 10,000 7-11-year-olds in Lambeth how to cook with vegetables

› The Brixton Market Veg Invasion family fun day in April

Veg Power is now conducting a full evaluation. The campaign is re-running in 2020, and will also play on Channel 4 and Sky

Special Contribution - Cost Sector Catering

Editor's Award - UK Fruit & Veg

Charity Campaign - Social Media Communications

Best Video Campaign - The Drum Social Purpose Awards

Health & Wellbeing - IGD Awards

Best Healthy Eating Initiative - Food Matters Live

AWARDS

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“ We’ve collaborated with the Gokhale Institute on a city-wide survey to understand households’ out of home eating behaviours, and to consult with Pune citizens on policy options for the Municipal Council.

INSPIRING LEADERSHIP AND INFORMING ACTION: DRIVING SYSTEM CHANGE BINDIOver the past year we have continued our work to inspire leadership on food policy in two major world cities – Birmingham, UK, and Pune, India. We secured support from the Department of International Development (DFID) and Tata Trusts to facilitate a learning partnership between these two cities, which involves the development of policies and practices as part of a ‘Nutrition Smart City’ initiative. The initiative aligns with Sustainable Development Goals 2, 5 and 12 and the Smart City movement.

Having launched the project in May 2018, we’ve worked with local authorities in both cities to design the

partnership, using citizen engagement and evidence from around the globe. We have produced Situational Analysis

Reports for both Birmingham and Pune which compile secondary data on the nutrition situation in both cities to inform the partnership, and have produced a case study report of other smart food and nutrition initiatives which have taken place elsewhere to inspire the local authorities in Birmingham and Pune.

In July this year, data collection began for a survey coordinated in collaboration with the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. The survey was developed to understand households’ out of home eating behaviours and the extent to which they support healthy or unhealthy diets, and to consult with Pune citizens on policy options for the Municipal Corporation. The findings will form the basis of a policy briefing for publication in late 2019.

The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) has now also been signed by both cities.

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National Food Strategy Food Foundation Executive Director Anna Taylor was appointed Chief Independent Advisor to Henry Dimbleby on the National Food Strategy.

This year, Leon Co-Founder and author of the School Food Plan Henry Dimbleby was commissioned by Environment Secretary Michael Gove to conduct an independent review of the UK food system, which will serve as the basis for an overarching cross-departmental National Food Strategy – the first of its kind for 75 years, covering the food chain from field to fork. Food Foundation Executive Director Anna Taylor will act as Chief Independent Advisor as the team speaks to people from along the food chain in its entirety, engages with experts and consults with people who have lived experience of our failing food system. Later in the process, the Food Foundation will help lead on youth engagement work, convening young people from across the UK to discuss their priorities for change.

The Food Foundation continues to work with eight other partner organisations (including the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UCL, City University and SOAS) on SHEFS, a Wellcome Trust-funded research project. The global research programme uses novel techniques to generate and synthesise evidence, and to help decision makers create policies that deliver nutritious and healthy diets in an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable manner.

Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS)In the last year, the Food Foundation has delivered a new SHEFS website from scratch, and produced a research briefing which provides an overview of the latest evidence from SHEFS, linking dietary patterns in India to their impact on population health and the environment. We have also undertaken a Photovoice project in Birmingham, aiming to understand food system challenges and policy solutions to fruit and vegetable consumption from the perspective of low-income mothers in the city.

This case study will serve as the starting point for further photovoice projects being conducted by other members of SHEFS in order to achieve a cross-cutting exploration of themes across the three countries (UK, India and South Africa). Photovoice is a tool which allows groups of people whose voices are often not heard to express their opinions through the medium of photos, and empowers them to make changes in their communities.

In July, the Food Foundation coordinated a SHEFS public engagement event (‘Living life on the veg: how our food system affects the climate’) at a London primary school to mark London Climate Action Week, and is developing a SHEFS schools programme to run alongside the research activity until Spring 2021.

“ We were so lucky to experience such an enriching educational opportunity thanks to the SHEFS team. The children were enthused, engaged and crucially came away buzzing with knowledge, understanding and ideas.”

ST JOHN'S CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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Influencing agriculture policy: the Fruit and Vegetable AllianceThe Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, coordinated by the Food Foundation, launched in Parliament in July 2018, marking the beginning of a synchronised drive to boost production and consumption of fruit and vegetables in the UK in order to improve public health.

The Alliance brings together representatives from across the sector and has been working to develop a vision for edible horticulture that reflects the health needs of the population and is supported by the government. Small and large producers, producer organisations, trade associations and health/food charities have joined forces to make the collective case for supporting fruit and vegetable production and consumption.

Over the last year, the Alliance has continued to provide regular input for Defra and the Farming Minister through the Edible Horticulture Roundtable – established by the Alliance – on how the government can best support the horticulture industry. The Alliance has highlighted the importance of considering the policies that will replace the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, and will also feed into the National Food Strategy.

The diverse range of organisations involved make the Alliance uniquely positioned to shape edible horticulture policy, and to provide advice for other actors in the industry and public health community.

Healthy ReturnsThe Food Foundation coordinated a team to produce a new report for Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity (GSTTC), which was published in November 2018. Healthy Returns: Opportunities for market-based solutions to childhood obesity found that food producers and retailers can play a vital role in tackling childhood obesity by addressing the unmet need of healthy, affordable food options for low income families. The report highlights in particular the growing number of ‘challenger brands’ – those that look to drive change in an industry – and how, with the right support, they can take innovative approaches to making healthy food affordable, accessible and appealing. Healthy Returns was launched at a roundtable co-hosted by GSTTC and Big Society Capital.

20


CHANGING BUSINESS PRACTICE Plating Up ProgressThe Food Foundation is working with the Food Climate Research Network (University of Oxford) on Plating Up Progress, which examines how food sustainability and health metrics might be used by stakeholders, especially investors, in assessing food industry progress.

The project aims:1. To build a consensus on metrics and reporting

mechanisms that can help stakeholders to assess food industry progress in contributing to the transition to sustainable and healthy diets; and

2. To build a consensus around these metrics and a coalition of stakeholders who can advance their uptake through appropriate reporting mechanisms.

In July, we released the first of two investor briefings. Plating Up Progress Part 1 looks at the sustainability risks and opportunities that exist for food retailers, caterers and restaurants, and was explored in greater depth during a series of webinars and investor workshops. Plating Up Progress Part 2 was launched at a one-day conference in September 2019 to assess risks and opportunities in the UK food retail and restaurant sectors, and how critical disclosure gaps can be filled.

“ With the right support, ‘challenger brands’ could find innovative approaches to making healthy food affordable, accessible and appealing.

CHRIS SMYTH MP Scottish Labour Party

“The Food Foundation revealed that more than 200,000 children in Scotland live in households that are unable to afford a healthy diet… we need to rethink how we approach access to food in this country. That means recognising that access to food is a fundamental human right”

21


INPARLIAMENT

PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES NADHIM ZAHAWI MP

Conservative

“ Clearly, there is much more to do. That was highlighted in the [Children’s Future Food Inquiry]

report, which raised some serious and important issues that we need to address”

FRANK FIELD MPIndependent

Thank you… to the Food Foundation for its work in raising the whole issue of hunger and destitution. The report not only does that, but makes practical proposals for what we might do about the situation. Likewise, I wish to thank the hundreds of children and young people who contributed to the Inquiry”

JUDITH CUMMINS MP Labour

One of the great strengths of the [Children’s Future Food Inquiry] report, and what sets it apart

from others, is that it prominently features the contribution of young people who have themselves experienced food poverty. Their testimony is both heart-breaking and powerful. I commend their dignity and I hope that their stories will be a wake-up call for all politicians to act now”

57 Hansard citations

MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD GEORGE EUSTICE MPConservative

With a dataset as rich as the Family Food report there is a wide and substantial range of potential secondary analyses that could be produced with it. An Eatwell Guide analysis was recently produced by the Food Foundation in this way”

Evidence given to the Environmental Audit Committee

(EAC) on Sustainable Development Goals in the UK

The Food Foundation referenced 26 times in the EAC’s report


22

ANDREW SELOUS MPConservative

I am grateful to the Food Foundation for its Broken Plate report. In that, a lady called Kathleen Kerridge wrote: “Across mainland Europe, cheap foods are healthy choices. It’s sensible that a kilo of tomatoes should be cheaper than a kilo of sausages. In the UK, however, the opposite is true”

FIONA BRUCE MP Conservative

I hope that the Minister will extend his reach right across the very many Departments that need to be engaged if this issue [children’s food insecurity] is to be tackled. I am pleased that Ministers have said that they will involve the Young Food Ambassadors, too, because at the end of the day, if we do not hear the children themselves, we are missing something”

BARONESS BOYCOTT Crossbench

Through the Children’s Future Food Inquiry, I have spoken directly to children who live in poverty and for whom these meals are a lifeline. The £2.30 a day allowance is simply not enough, unless the school is very creative, to provide daily meals and snacks. I have heard from children who were charged up to £2 for half a small pizza. We spend £458 million a year on school meals, but no monitoring system is in place in England and standards are very uneven… Does the government not agree that this is an extremely short-sighted approach?”

RUTH SMEETH MPLabour

One of the most shocking things to come out of the Children’s Future Food Inquiry was access to water. In some schools around the country, children were having to pay for a bottle of water out of their free school meal allowance. That meant they could not afford a full meal, so they were having a bottle of water and chips, or a bottle of water and a sandwich. These are children who qualify for

free school meals. How are we feeding them? How are

they getting access to a good, healthy meal that may well be their only hot meal all week? We have some work to do”

Parliamentary briefing for MPs and accompanying and blog post on the Agriculture Bill, calling for the Bill to include human health

as a Public Good 7 of our engaged MPs raised the absence of public

health as a key problem for the Agriculture Bill At the 3rd committee session on the bill, 3 amendments linked to public health,

healthy food and human health were submitted

29 MPs36 civil servants

4 ministers4 Peers

3 other government officials

74meetings

including...

DAVID LINDEN MP Scottish National Party

I pay tribute to all of those who served on the [Children’s Future Food] Inquiry, which has produced an excellent report with many worthy recommendations”

7EVIDENCE

SUBMISSIONS TO SELECT

COMMITTEES

2018 8TH OCTOBER

LONDON’S LIVING ROOM, CITY HALL, LONDON

1.30PM – 8PM

23


SHAPING POLICY THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS

SEPT2018

OCT2018

NOV2018

DEC2018

JAN2019

FEB2019

MAR2019

MAY2019

JUN2019

JUL2019

AUG2019

MEDIA HITS

540 6064

6378

6523

6587

6855

7114

7262

7512

7638

7781

7874

8,039(avg.)

AWARDS

6

BLOGS ON WEBSITE

17

Healthy Returns: Opportunities for

market-based solutions to childhood obesity

The Broken Plate: Ten vital signs revealing the haelth of our food system, its impact on our lives and the remedies we must pursue

What Young People Say About Food

Affordability of the UK's

Eatwell Guide

Peas Please

Progress Report

Healthy Returns Roundtable

Presenting to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights

Judge: Urban Food Awards

Speaker: IFPRI Food Industries for People and Planet: Towards a New Research Agenda

Speaker: Freshfel Annual Event

Convened GLA food insecurity roundtable

Speaker: LACA - The Main Event

Speaker: The University Caterers Organisation conference

Speaker: Food Brexit Conference

Panel chair: End Hunger UK / Feeding Britain Conference

The Broken Plate launch at the House

of Lords

Veg Power launch at the

House of Lords

The Children's

Future Food Inquiry final

report

Peas Please Northern Ireland launch - Balmoral

Show, NI

Peas Please

Pledger Event

SHEFS research briefing:

Sustainable and Healthy

Diets in India (SAHDI)

SHEFS website

Scotland launch - Edinburgh

The Children's Future Food Inquiry England launch -

Westminster, London

Northern Ireland launch - Belfast

SHEFS schools engagement: London Climate Action Week

APR2019

Events Media Coverage

External speaking appearances

shefsglobal.lshtm.ac.uk

Future Food in India

Health and Environmental Impacts

shefsglobal.lshtm.ac.uk

A civil servant at the Department for Education reported that widespread

press coverage of the Inquiry’s work had made inaction

impossible – children's food insecurity was now too high

profile an issue to ignore”

PublicationsKEY

Children's Future Food Inquiry 'Listening Event'

at the House of Lords

Children's #Right2Food

Charter

Veg Power Brixton Veg Invasion

Wales launch - Cardiff

Plating Up Progress Part 1

24


COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS

VEG POWER

BINDIWITH 2 LOCAL AUTHORITIES

END HUNGER

UK

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE ALLIANCE

21 MEMBERS

PLATING UP

PROGRESS

NATIONAL FOOD

STRATEGY

HEALTHY RETURNS

SHEFS10 COLLABORATING

PARTNERS

LONDON FOOD

BOARD

PEAS PLEASE 6 CORE PARTNERS

51 PLEDGERS 22 VEG CITIES

CHILDREN’S FUTURE FOOD INQUIRY

9 KEY PARTNERS, 23 COMMITTEE

MEMBERS

25


FUNDERSWe are hugely grateful to our funders, without whom our work would not be possible. During 2018-19 the following organisations provided funding for our work.


26

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIESFOOD FOUNDATION, A COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY, REGISTERED NUMBER 09162855 Year ending 31 August 2019

2019 2018 £ £

Incoming resources 489,053 356,174

Cost of sales (81,567) (51,615)

Gross profit 407,486 304,559

Administrative expenses (408,270) (312,995)

Other operating income 1,957 7,196

Operating profit/(loss) 1,173 (1,240)

Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation 1,173 (1,240)

Tax on profit/(loss) on ordinary activities - -

Profit/(loss) for the financial year 1,173 (1,240)

Notes 2019 2018 £ £

Fixed assetsTangible assets 2 2,507 702

Current assetsDebtors 3 44,677 18,501Cash at bank and in hand 278,208 111,173 322,885 129,674

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 4 (323,598) (129,755)

Net current liabilities (713) (81)

Net assets 1,794 621

Capital and reservesProfit and loss account 1,794 621

Shareholders' funds 1,794 621

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 AUGUST 2019

The directors are satisfied that the company is entitled to exemption from the requirement to obtain an audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006.The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.The accounts have been prepared and delivered in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. The profit and loss account has not been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Act.

Laura Sandys, Director Approved by the board on 9th December 2019


27

Food FoundationThe Raincloud Victoria

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T: +44(0)20 3086 9953www.foodfoundation.org.uk

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http://www.foodfoundation.org.uk

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